We know it intuitively: when the problem is serious, a small dose of humor eases the tension and opens the mind. The atmosphere shifts, people feel safer sharing ideas, and solutions emerge that weren't visible before.
Yet in practice, the opposite often happens: someone cracks a joke and the room collectively decides they're not taking things seriously enough. That they're goofing off when they should be focused.
What if we're wasting one of the most powerful levers we have for solving complex problems?
The academic case
This isn't just intuition. Neuroscientist Mark Beeman at Northwestern University studied how humor affects our ability to solve problems (more on that and related studies here).
In one of his experiments, some students watched a short comedy clip while others watched something dull or stressful. Everyone then tackled word-association puzzles.
This isn't a minor or anecdotal effect. It's neuroscience applied to something that plays out every day in meeting rooms, calls, and board sessions.
What kind of leader do people follow?
In my experience — and across the leadership literature — there's broad consensus: people follow warm, approachable leaders who can bring a smile even in the middle of a crisis… and then return immediately to the task at hand.
That kind of humor doesn't minimize the problem. It makes it feel manageable. The implicit message is powerful:
What if you're not the leader?
You don't need to be the CEO or the formal team leader to contribute that lightness. Often the best-timed remark comes from someone unexpected in the room.
A well-placed comment can break the ice, reduce anxiety, and make it safe for others to say what they're actually thinking. Your role can be pivotal simply by giving the room room to breathe for a moment — so everyone returns to the problem with more clarity.
Reframing the problem
Reframing means changing the way we look at a problem — usually by changing the question we're asking. Shifting from "Why is this failing?" to "How do we make this work every time?" opens a completely different solution space.
Humor is a powerful shortcut to reframing. When someone floats a "crazy" idea that gets a laugh, they're also testing a new angle. Many of the best solutions start as something that first sounded like a joke.
I remember a tense situation with a client: a production application was deleting data whenever it detected certain inconsistencies. We couldn't reproduce the problem, and the pressure in the room was at its peak.
At one of the hardest moments, the client said something like:
"Well, if we don't fix this, eventually all the data gets wiped, we're all out of jobs… and at least we won't have this problem anymore."
Everyone laughed. That one comment broke the pressure. We felt — clearly, collectively — that we were in the same boat, vendor and client alike, and that we were going to push until the end. That injection of energy and trust changed the atmosphere entirely. Hours later, we found the root cause and fixed it.
In complex situations, humor isn't a luxury. It's a strategic tool for thinking better, together.
At Buho Advisors, we use it as part of our methodology: formal and structured at its core, but with room for a clever or unexpected idea to ease the tension — and help the team find more and better solutions. 🙂
Buho Advisors — Technology advisory for boards in Latin America.
Real Experience. Strategic Vision.
Does your board need to think differently?
We work with boards using methodology, real-world experience — and, when the moment calls for it, a well-placed dose of strategic humor.
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